Knapsack sprayer



Jan. 1, 1935. W. B, PARKER 1,986,407

KNAPSACK SPRAYER Filed June 24, 1932 A TTORNE YS.

lates l to l apparatus? ier Patented Jan. `1, 1935 wwe v V1,986341'17`KisTAPsAc'K SPRAYER sig'nor to California Spray;,ChemicalC01pr`n'ation, Berkeley, Galif.,"a corporation of Delaware ApplicationJune2gi193z, sri'al Nq. 619,101] l 'fTheinvention in geizural,`relatesto apparatusfor applyinginsecticidal or fungicidalgma- I-terialsin liquid form' to pest-infested. or diseased growth.. More^particularly, the invention-re which isradapted to apply materials ofvfthe, aforementioned character simultaneously `to"'a f plurality ofplants, i trees and thelikein an area thereof. Y

`'lhe present deviceghas been devised for pracf ticing the methoddisclosed in my copending ap# plication, Serial No.. 635,861,.`1flledOctober, 1,` 1932, andi entitled Method-.of controlling plantpestsandplantdiseases. l l i v #An object oftheinvention, is to` provideadevice""which. is adaptedH to applyconcentrated liquid'insecticidalorffungicidal materialsto infested'or diseased growthdn effectivekilling or destroyingfamounts. Without. injury toi the foliagev 'thereofand without Waste of material. c 1; f A further robject ofthe inventionis to prov-ide l adviceof the aforementioned `character whichconveniently canibe 'carried `on theperson and readily manipulated by'hand.. 1f ,I 'Y Other objects of the invention;v together with someifofthe advantageous 'features thereof, will appear from vthe followingdescription. of the preferred' embodiment of the invention'.

Inthedrawingl:` l i fx 2 "Figure'l isE afdiagrammatic sideelevation ofan embodiment of my invention. .l "Figure`2 is adiagrammatic elevationof' the embodiment `of 'myf invention' which is. shown inFigure '1,butviewed fromlthe side` opposite to-that vvhiel'ifis illustratedin"Fig`ure1.fi Figure 3" is ani enlarged cross-sectionalview of aportion of thedevice.f

Figure 4 is a view taken on f Figure 5 is anenlarged plan of 'oneelement ofA the' portion of thedev'ice which is illustrated inliglli'rfi.`

i The 'deviceof-my invention, fin "its preferred form,f1 comprisesv 1'al tankv for carrying liquid inV` secticidalI` or fungicidal materialsandadapted t'obe'retainedonfthe personancl af-'plate also adapted` to be'retained' on .the l person, together with afspraynozzle, meansforforcing the material from the tankthrough' the nozzle to produceaspray-thereof, `and means for causing a streamlof air 'tofmove" at a`relatively high velocity and under ...ai relatively `low pressurethrough andfrom a'i'spout encompassing `said nozzle, all supported onsaid plate, whereby the spr'ayfis` enveloped and thecliquid material` isatomized by; diffusedin and'carried. byV the vair in` he, formof a"floating, plantlenveloping, fogf like mist containing rniscroscopic!particles' of the liquid material. As-illustrated in Figures 1 and'2: ofthe draw--V ingpI provide a.v tank 1'1 for holding' a, con-- venientquantity of l liquid `insecticidal orl fungi` cdal material. The tankpreferably' `is `lfafpicated of arelatively light `andinexpensive-metal, such 'as tin, andformed lto sucht a: size` and shapeas, together Withits. contents, conveniently -and comfortably. can be'VretainedV upon the back of" ayfperson of averagefproportions: Asuitablejscrewicap 12 serves to close the'.V inlet offthetank, anda pipeconnection13 is'tted tothe outlet thereof.' \'1'h'e "various operableelements `of tlf1'e`device `preferably lare mounted in compactrelationship upon la plate 14 l having a lateral lextending'` flange 161thereon; "The plateV 14, together with the several elementssupportedithereonfconveriiently can be carried upon the breast of theoperator of thedevice and?, as

asuitable means for bracing the -plgtengams-t the bodyf'pfovide a breastplate 1'1 Akwhich is ried` upon' theA tank 11.

" Iheseveral element "for producing laspray of the liquid material andfor enveloping the spray in a rapidly moving stream of 'ainunder lovv4pressure'Y ton transform the `spray into Va. floatingplant-:envelopin'g, fog-like f mi'st 'con-'- taining 'microscopicparticles Vof the'` liquid ma# terial include a pump 28, eitherfof therotor, piston 'orother positive"displacement` type, a spray nozzle 29,suitable connectionsbetweenthe tank 11,* pump 28 and nozzle 29 forconducting the liquidmaterial, a blower 31', a'spout 32jcom7municatir'igyvith the outlet 'of the 'blowerand encompassingandvvsupporting the nozzle 29,7a`nd means for drivingthe pump andtheblower.

In-the preferredfembodirnent f the: invention lvvhiclfilhave'illustrated in the"drawing', the pump 28- is4 mounted, byianysuitable means, such as screwbolt's 33, upontle flange 1616i the lplate.'v 14. A flexible l connection,- such as a rubber hose .34,establishes :communication ibetween .the pipe-connection 13 leading fromAthe outlet of theatank `11 and a pipe connection- 3'6 leading. to the.inlet fof. the pump' 28.2.'Awconnection'l :leads from theoutlet of`the'fpump of material to the inlet side of the pump. Pref-- erably, thematerial is forced through the spray nozzle 29 under a pressure ofapproximately 30 to 40 pounds per square inch, and, if desired, apressure gauge 43 can beinterposed in the Ycon'- nection 37. Theconnection 3 7conveniently is connected to the nozzle 29 by means of ahollow coupling 44 and means, suchas screws 46, serve to secure thecoupling 44 and the nozzle29 toi` the spout 32. The nozzle 29 preferablyis supported so that .the tip thereof is disposed flush withtheoutlet'rof the spout. i y

The type of spray nozzle which I preferably employ in the device is ofthe character used in the .machine of my inventionv which is describedin my copending application,y Serial No. 619,108, led June24, 1932, andentitled Machine for applying materials to plants, trees and the like.The nozzle includes an internally and externally threaded cap 47 havinga relatively small oric'e 48 in the` tip thereof and a plug 49 which isadjustably mounted with respect to the cap. The

plug 49 comprises a head 51, substantially semispherical in contour, aneck 52, and afbody 53, the latter being threaded, as at 54, forengagement with the internal threading of the cap 47. A slot'56 is cutinthe free endof the body for receivinga tool whereby the plug can bemoved toward and away from the tip ofthe nozzle. .To provide channels.for theliquid material, the body 53 is ygroovedlongitudinally thereofand preferably through the threads 54, as at 57, and the head 51 isprovided Vwith a series of grooves 58, as illustrated in Figure 5 ofthejdrawing. The arrangement of the grooves 58 is such that thematerialis sprayed in the form of a whirling cone and thereby is vmore-or less uniformly distributed in the air stream passing through thespout 32.v v f. In ordertoV secure the blower 31 rigidly to the plate14, I havejournaled thefan shaft. 59 of the blower in a bearing 61 whichis firmly attached` to they plate and have provided strips 62 and 63connecting the housing of the blower to the breast plate 17 which, asabove related, Yissecured to the plate14. A hook clamp 64, attached tothe plate. 14 and engaging the spout 32 aids in retaining 'the spout inposition.

' In accordance with the invention, a hand crank66 and suitable gearingare provided for driving the pump 28` and blower 31. As illustrated VinFigure -1, the crank is journaled in the. plate 14 and carries a gear 67which meshes with a pinion 6 8 on an extended shaft 69 of one rotor ofthe pump.v The shaft 69 also carries a gear 71 which meshes with anidler gear 72, journaled in the plate 14, which in turnA meshes with agear 73 -carried on the fan shaft 59 of the blower. Rotation of thecrank 66, thus, results in simultaneous operation of the pump .28 fand'blower 31 whereby the liquid material is' forced throughthe nozzle29 and issues in the formof a spray and a stream of air, moving at arelatively high velocity fand under low pressuredischarges from thespout 32, envelops the 4scribed device in the treatment of infested anddiseased growth. The percentage of kill. of pests was relatively highand the fungi were destroyed without injury to the plant life. Arelatively small amount of? material was used per acre of plants treatedand the Work Was done in a practical length vof time. My success was dueto -the'fact that the fog-like lmist liberated by the ldevice' possessedthe properties set forth in my first above mentioned copendingapplication; namely, the mist. persisted for anr appreciable periodoftime, oated freely through and enveloped the growth over which `it'wasdirected and contained particles ofthe liquid material ranging size fromapproximately .100 to .300 millimeters'in diameter. whereby thin, evenfilmsof the material were deposited -upon all portions, including bothsides of the foliage, of the plants. Practical ltests for "determiningwhether the liberatecl'fog-likel mist is of the proper character arebyrobservation thereof and by inspection of the treated growth. If thefog-like mist is-grey-A ish-white in appearance, envelops the 'growthand persists-for an appreciable period of time, and, further, if thin,even lms of the material are found vron the various portions andbothfsides of the foliage, the mist'liberated is of the proper andeffective character. On the otherhand, if the mist vanishes rapidly intothe atmosphere andfthere is little orno deposit of the material uponythe growth or, again, if the mist falls rapidly to the ground and plantsnearest to the device are drenched while those farther `from the spoutreceive no deposit of -material, the amount of material introduced anddistributed in the stream of air, in the first instancafis too small,and,fin the second instance, is too great. A simple adjustment of theplug149 with respect to the cap 47 of the nozzle can be made forcorrecting the character of the mist.

While I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention inthe drawing, it is to be understood that I am not to be limited to theembodiment shown,l as my invention, as defined inthe appended claims,can be embodied lin a plurality and Variety of forms.

1. A knapsack device for applying liquid materials to plants, trees andthe like to control plant pestsand plant diseases, said devicecomprisinga tank for holding the material to be applied,v a plate, `a breast plateon said plate, means connecting said'breast plate and said tank forsupporting said plate andA said tankv in balanced. relation on theperson withfthe breast plate resting upon the breast of the person, ablower on said plate, a spout on said plate cornmunicating with theoutlet of said blower, a pump on .said plate communicating with saidtank and geared to said blower, a nozzle on said plate' communicating.with the voutlet of said pump and supported, within said spout, a crankjournaled in said plate and geared to said blower, and a handle foractuating said crank; actuation of said crank 'causing a sprayr of saidmaterial to be ejected from said nozzle and to be diffused in a streamof air of relatively high velocity and under relatively low pressurewhich is caused to `pass from said blower through said spout thereby"liberating a floating, plant-enveloping, fog-like mist of air andmicroscopic particles of said `geared to said pump; said blowercommunicatmaterial from said spout.

2. A knapsack device for applying liquid materials to plants and thelike to control plant pests and plant diseases, said device comprising atank for holding a liquid insecticidal or fungicidal material andadapted to be retained on the back of the person, a plate, a breastplate on said plate, means connecting said breast plate and said tankfor supporting the plate upon the` `breast of the person, a blowersupported on'said plate, aspout in communication with said blower, anozzle in said spout, a pump supported on `said plate and communicatingwith said tank and with said nozzle, a crank journaled in said plate andgeared to said pump, and gears connecting said pump and said blowerwhereby, upon rotation of said crank, a stream of air is caused to movethrough and from said spout at a relatively high velocity and under arelatively low pressure and particles of liquid material are `ejectedfrom said nozzle, introduced into and distributed in said Ystream of airand atomized thereby and diffused therein so as to produce a floating,plant-enveloping fog-like mist consisting of air and microscopicparticles of the liquid insecticidal or iungicidal material.

3. A knapsack device for applying liquid materials to plants and thelike to controlplant pests and plant diseases, said device comprising atank for holding liquid insecticidal or fungicidal material and adaptedto be retained on the person, a plate `for retention on'the person, abreast plate on v said plate, straps connecting said breast plate andsaid, tank for supporting said tank and said plate on the person, saidtank and said breast plate being maintained on opposite sides of saidperson and in balanced relation and means on said plate for producing aspray of said material` and for causing a stream of air to move at a`relatively high velocity and'under a relatively `low pressure and toenvelop said spray and diffuse the same in the stream of air; said meansincluding a spray nozzle, a crank journaled in said plate, apump gearedto the crank and communicating with said tank and said nozzle, a spoutencompassing and supporting said nozzle, and a blower on said plate anding with said spout.

4. In a knapsack device for usein controlling plant pests or plantdiseases, a tank for holding liquid insecticidal or fungicidal materialsand adapted to be retained on the person, a plate for retention on theperson, means connecting said tank and said plate for supporting them inbalanced relation on the person, a pump, a blower and a crank, alljournaled in said plate, gears connecting said crank and said pump,gears connecting said pump and said blower whereby, upon rotation ofsaid crank, said pump and said blower are operated, a spray nozzlecornmunicatingwith` the outlet of said pump and a spout encompassing andsupporting said nozzle and communicating with the outlet of said blower.

5. In a knapsack device of the character described, a breast plate, ahand operated air blast liquid sprayer secured to the breast plate andextending from the forward side thereof, a storage tank for liquid spraymaterial spaced rearwardly from the breast plate, means for connectingthe tank with said breast plate whereby the device tends to balance uponan operator, and means forming a liquid connection between said tank andsaid sprayer.

6. In a knapsack device of the character described, a breast plate, ahand operated air blast vas liquid sprayer secured to the breast plateand WILLIAM B. PARKER.

